What had to this point been a down year on the court for Indian tennis star Sania Mirza finally turned around this month. First, she steamrolled through the necessary three qualifying matches for the U.S. Open. Then, in the first round of the main draw she defeated Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 6-3, 6-2. The 77-minute victory was a real confidence booster for Mirza.

â€œI am just going to enjoy it. I was happy when I won the first round of the qualifiers and I am happy again today. I love playing here on the hardcourts in New York and always seem to do well here,â€ Sania told One India News after the match. She was to face 20th seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchankova in the second round.

Mirza has seen her world ranking drop to 159, with a nagging wrist injury largely to blame. And as a result she had to qualify for Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2005. But, she has some momentum going at the moment, so there is no telling where it will take her.